1937

By 1937, the ‘Florencian’ was born, and had new ideas about breathing life into the old newsletter format. Rather than being penned by instructors or committee members, The Florencian appealed to the members themselves, ‘The ‘Florencian’ will only become a big thing so long as it is representative of the life of the Florrie and that is, composed of all its members. Let us have your point of view, for what you think of the Club counts a tremendous lot, it determines what you will do for the Club, and in that way, what will be the future progress of the Club.’ The Editorial pointed out however that not all pieces placed in the ‘Contribution Box’, especially the limerick penned by ‘Mapop’ were of suitable ‘character’ for publication!

As in previous years the club ‘adopted’ a family under the Goodfellow Scheme. ‘The family allotted to us was a very deserving case, there being mother, father, three boys and a baby girl, and what probably would have been a dreary Christmas for them turned into a truly merry one.’

The Warden replied to criticism (published in a previous issue) of the move to make The Florrie part of the L.B.A,  and therefore the National Association of Boy’s Clubs. The response was strongly worded: ‘Unfortunately, there seems many people about, who can see no further than the end of their nose, who still play on their own ‘’Dung heap’, hown (sic) everybody else and everything new. We must widen our horizons, co-operate with other bodies, try new ventures and pastures new, or else we stagnate and die.

The French Aristocrats of the 18^th Century refused to co-operate; they had a good time for ninety years- then bloody revolution, and the guillotine. That must not happen to us, we must throw off this cloak of snobbery and indifference, expand with the times and lead the way to happier and wider spheres of activity. The Florrie must be first not in grievances, but in constructive service.’

Jamac offered a rather dubious instruction in his article ‘How to Dance’ : ‘After practising at home with the easy chair or settee there will come a time when you will want to venture of the dance floor. The first thing to do, is to walk to the centre of the floor, and, after making a slight spin on the ball of the foot, walk in the direction you face until you meet a group of young females. Then comes the hardest part of dancing, to pick out a partner who will be able to follow your steps and not make a fool of you. The best thing to do is to have a good look at the shoes of the aforesaid females. Those with nice, clean, new dance shoes, pass over for those wearing well-worn, cracked ones, for this will denote that the wearer’s feet have been broken in and hardened by contact with other dancers’ feet. After picking your partner out by this method, walk straight to her and say ‘What about this dance, babe’ or ‘Let’s grease the floor, sweetheart’. Sometimes the more experienced dancers will just give a nod or lift a finger and beckon, but it is best not to do it this way, on account of the delicacy and finesse required, which takes years of practice to obtain. The next thing to do, is to hold the partner in the correct manner. Put your right arms around the waist, and take hold of her right arm with your left. It is best not to hold her too tight because of the undignified appearance, and perhaps the girl might not like it; although no notice should be taken of what the partner thinks or says. ‘ It continued!

Also included was film review of Fury, starring Spencer Tracy, which was showing at the Rivoli Cinema in Aigburth. The contributor ranked it second only to ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ when considering the best films of the year, and described its subject matter as dealing with ‘one of America’s greatest social problems, of which we over here know little about, or at any rate never experience. I refer to the mass hysteria which leads to racial hatred, lynching, and the subject of our film, the persecution of the innocent and death by violent means without trial, merely because a mobs unconquerable fury and uncontrolled passion’ which were particularly pertinent ‘with the passing of Christmas and the season of goodwill toward men, the world returns to normal and war, destruction and sin occupy the headlines in the World’s News.’

Finally:

A Suggestion by G.R Sallis

To spend your evenings at the Club,

Beats all your standing by the pub,

And chasing gangs around the streets,

And dodging policemen on their beats,

‘Tis better far to come inside

And keep your leisure occupied

In ways that give your life a plan

And make a boy into a MAN